Abstract
AbstractClimate change, as revealed by gradual changes in temperature, precipitation, atmospheric moisture, and wind intensity, as well as sea level rise and changes in the occurrence of extreme events, is already affecting cultural heritage sites. Accordingly, there is a rapidly increasing body of research reporting on the impacts of climatic stressors on cultural heritage and on the assessment of climate change impacts on cultural heritage assets. This review synthesizes the international literature on climate change impacts on tangible cultural heritage by developing hazard‐impact diagrams focusing on the impacts of gradual changes in climate on: (1) the cultural heritage exposed to the outside environment, (2) the interiors of historical buildings and their collections, and (3) a third diagram associated with climate change and the impacts due to sudden changes in the natural physical environment (e.g., storm surges, floods and landslides, wildfire) in addition to sea level rise, permafrost thawing, desertification and changes in the properties of the oceans. These diagrams, which depict the relationships between various stressors and their impacts on cultural heritage, will allow other researchers, stakeholders, and potentially decision makers to determine the potential impacts of climate change on a specific cultural heritage asset without a separate examination of the literature. This review thus provides the current state‐of‐the‐art on the impacts of climate change on the tangible, built heritage, that is, monuments, archeological sites, historical buildings, as well as their interiors and the collections they hold, highlights the limitations of previous research, and provides recommendations for further studies.This article is categorized under: Assessing Impacts of Climate Change > Evaluating Future Impacts of Climate Change
Highlights
Cultural heritage assets such as historical buildings, archeological sites, and monuments, their contents and collections, as well as their intangible aspects are a legacy from our past that lend a sense of place, identity, and aesthetic wellbeing to local populations (M. Cassar, 2009; Phillips, 2015)
Cultural heritage is at risk from Sea Level Rise (SLR), changes in the intensity of storm surges, with associated impacts on coastal erosion, flooding and potentially inundation, in addition to changes to inland fluvial dynamics (Howard et al, 2008; International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Climate Change and Heritage Working Group, 2019; Sabbioni et al, 2010; UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2007, 2008)
Considering the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2014) risk terminology, this review focuses on the material effects as a result of changes in the hazard; it does not consider the vulnerability of the cultural heritage asset
Summary
Cultural heritage assets such as historical buildings, archeological sites, and monuments, their contents and collections, as well as their intangible aspects are a legacy from our past that lend a sense of place, identity, and aesthetic wellbeing to local populations (M. Cassar, 2009; Phillips, 2015). Cultural heritage is at risk from Sea Level Rise (SLR), changes in the intensity of storm surges, with associated impacts on coastal erosion, flooding and potentially inundation, in addition to changes to inland fluvial dynamics (Howard et al, 2008; ICOMOS Climate Change and Heritage Working Group, 2019; Sabbioni et al, 2010; UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2007, 2008). For these reasons, there has been a growing body of research investigating the impacts of these climatic stressors and other changes in the natural physical environment on heritage typologies and materials. Considering the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2014) risk terminology, this review focuses on the material effects as a result of changes in the hazard; it does not consider the vulnerability of the cultural heritage asset
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